Travel back from Buffalo to Jackson MS, Some routine maintenance and bad BBQ

October 24 - 27, 2014   

We are back in sunny and warm Jackson Mississippi where we left our RV.  It’s sort of like we were never gone at all. We were very grateful that the insects here didn’t invade our RV while we were gone too.  I put a lot of bug barrier insecticide down all around everything that touched the ground from the RV.  Looks like it worked!  Now we just need to get the truck and head on further south.

We had this very red cardinal under our picnic table.

We left the Buffalo area on Friday the 24th around noon.  We had planned to leave closer to 10am but that just didn’t happen.  We had several issues trying to leave that ended up slowing us down.  First, we were ready by 10am but then we needed to run errands before we actually left which would add half an hour, no big deal.   Just as I was getting ready to pull out to leave, I couldn’t find my glasses.  This is typical for me but usually I just look around a bit and there they are. Not this time!  After completely searching the car, including suitcases, and the house a couple of times, Patty found them.  They had been in the passenger seat where Patty was sitting.  When she got into the car, and unknown to her, she pushed the glasses into the area between the center console and the passenger seat.  I never thought to check her side as she was sitting there.  That lost us another half an hour making us now an hour late. 

We needed to pick up a ring Patty’s mother willed to her which was at her sister's house. It was on the way but added a little more time.  But as we pulled in I noticed that the clothes we had in the back seat were not there now.  I left them when I took them out to search the car for my glasses, yikes!  Now for another half an hour lost going for a round trip back to get them.  So, by the time everything was said and done we were 2 hours late and left at noon for a 560 mile trip.

We made good time and finally stopped 50 miles from Louisville KY at 8:30pm.  We traveled 500 miles today which leaves us 650 miles to travel tomorrow to complete the trip. 

The next morning we started out around 9am for the long trip back to Jackson MS.  Again, we made very good time (we were also helped by an hour time difference) and arrived at our RV by 5:30pm.

Probably the most interesting thing about the trip was watching the changes in the fall colors as we went south. In North NY state the fall colors are now just past their peak. The peak colors are now between southern Ohio and Nashville TN.  The trees here in the middle of Mississippi have just a tiny bit of color so far.  We got to see the fall foliage change before our eyes in just 2 days.  The temperature change was dramatic too.  We left Buffalo with a temperature of 50 and arrived in Jackson with a temperature of 91.

When we got back I first hooked back up the water that I had disconnected before we left.  We forgot to turn off the water heater before we left last week.  I was afraid that the heater may have gone dry and then I would need to replace the heating element.  Well, all was good, no problems with the water heater.  We also were afraid that the insects here would overwhelm the RV while we were gone.  Of course, my fear was that the RV would be covered in banana spiders, which was not the case thankfully!  Basically it was like we never left!

Sunday the 26th we just mostly relaxed from the long trip and week.  We can’t check on the truck until Monday as Ford service is closed on weekends.  We still have the rental car so we decided to keep it until we get the truck back or they start charging us for it.

I managed to rig up the wind speed device for our new weather station to the RV ladder in a more permanent way. Back in September when we were in Indiana I put the wind sensor on the TV antenna.  I thought this was a good place to put it because the sensor was in completely free air when the antenna was up.  Also, I thought since the antenna was down when traveling the sensor would be protected some what from the wind while driving.  Well, I was wrong!  After just a couple of trips the wind sensor lost all of its wind cups due to the wind pushing on the cups instead of just turning them like it would if it was in the up position.  

So, a couple of weeks ago I purchased on-line 3 replacement sets of the wind cups for the sensor.  I got three just in case my new mounting idea doesn't work and or we damage it with tree branches.  I now have the sensor positioned to be in the wind at all times, even when driving.  I am hoping the sensor can handle a 65 mph wind.  We shall see!

I put the wind sensor on the right side of the ladder.  My hope is that it will be less affected by tree limbs and such by being mounted near the center of the RV.  The sensor is hard wired to a transmitter I have located under the rear of the RV.  The wiring is wire tied to the right side of the ladder.

Monday the 27th I called Ford and found out that the truck wouldn’t be ready until tomorrow!  It looks like they just sat on the truck work until we came back.  We had told them that we thought we would be back no later than the 28th.  Well, we got back sooner!  Now we need to add another day to our stay here at this campground.  We came here just for an overnight stay and now we will have been here for 19 days!

Since we are here another day, I took the opportunity to finish a couple of routine maintenance items that I needed to do.  Since the leveling hydraulic cylinders have been down for over a week now I coated them with silicone.   The idea here is to prevent any corrosion from forming.  Next, I needed to flush out the hot water heater.  I have had this on my list of stuff to do since we were in Indiana but I kept putting it off.  It really is an easy thing to do so I am not sure why I put this off.  The hardest part is getting rid of the hot water before I drain it and that just involves turning off the heater and letting the hot water run until it gets cold.

Outside cover of the water heater.

Water heater cover open.

After turning off the heater and running the water till is is cold and then turning off the water, I opened and removed the white threaded cap to let the 10 gallons of water drain from the unit.

To help get the water out you open the pressure relief valve in the center of the photo.  It will allow air to enter as the water leaves from the bottom.

Water draining from the tank.

For dinner we decided to have BBQ from a place (Daddio’s Down Home BBQ) within walking distance from our site.  The place got some good reviews from some people on an internet forum about this area.  Let me tell you, the food sucked!  I had the ribs and I thought the meat would not leave my throat! It was like I needed the rib bone to push the meat down to my stomach!  The only good thing was that they were tender which, really, is a prerequisite for ribs anyway.  The sauce tasted like bad bottled sauce and the ribs had only a strong taste of salt and that of being old. Personally, I think the ribs were cooked a long time ago and either frozen and thawed and or just kept for a long time in the refrigerator.  Even as I write this the next day, my gut hurts from eating those ribs!  This is the second time we have had local ribs in the south and have been greatly disappointed.  We did have some on Beale Street in Memphis that were just OK.  I am now on a mission to prove ribs are either good down here or not.  So, I need to eat more ribs, once I get my appetite for ribs back that is!

Picture inside Daddio's Down Home BBQ.
Maybe he is waiting to see when his uncle is being served!

Another picture from the inside of Daddio's.  This guy just ate the ribs!

Tomorrow we hope to get the truck back and then head out on Wednesday the 29th.  Our plan right now is to get to Ingram TX, just west of San Antonio by Friday afternoon to visit with our friend Janelle.

Stay Tuned!